


Whiteboard

by MeLikesRofl



Category: Naruto
Genre: Adventure, Freeform, Gen, Konoha - Freeform, Ninja, OC/SI, Slow Updates, Uchiha Clan - Freeform, needs more bunnies, not joking, totally shameless here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-12
Updated: 2015-05-12
Packaged: 2018-03-30 06:08:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3925735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MeLikesRofl/pseuds/MeLikesRofl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When given a blank slate to start off with, what would you do? Well, screw destiny and The Plot. This is my story. AU-ish. SI/OC.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Wohooo I've finally gotten around to slowing getting the existing plot fixed (reposted from ffn), and eventually travelling to canon major arcs. Soon, peeps. Soon.

...Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

The sound echoed throughout my head, calming my disoriented self.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

...My head is still spinning. Where am I?

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

I shifted around slowly, trying to get a sense of my surroundings. It's a comfortable temperature at least, so hopefully wherever I'm in isn't a really bad place. I hope.

After waiting for a few moments more for something to happen, I got bored. Finally having enough of the darkness, I tried to open my eyes.

Tried, mind you.

Eh? I can't open them? What's happening?

Ba-dump. Ba-dump.

...Huh? There are other sounds now?

Suddenly, it hurt.

Like, really really suffocating kind of hurt. Ouch.

I squirmed, trying to escape whatever hellhole I somehow ended up in. Sadly, my body did not really respond to my already overdriven brain.

Come on gal! Motivate yourself! Don't die by being squished here!

And my all too helpful brain provided a rather detailed hypothetical 'squished like a bug' state for me.

Wow, thanks man. Thanks.

This is indeed Great Motivation. Thanks.

Doubling my still futile efforts, I squirmed even more. All of a sudden, something burst. I can feel cool air coming in somewhere near my head, causing relief to flood through my system.

Even louder noises can be heard now, although I still can't make out what the muffled noises are. Some kind of liquid is moving around me, making squelching noises that frankly, sounds rather ew.

Feeling something blocking my path, I desperately shifted the obstacle away. To be frank, it was practically a miracle the obscenely huge and near-immovable obstacle actually did shift away from the cool windy area - my freedom!

Don't ask me how it happened. It just did. (I was secretly praying that the god of fate was laughing too hard to notice or something)

Then, something grabbed my leg/arm (I can't really tell) and pulled.

Sharp blinding pain engulfed me for a moment and suddenly, everything felt crisp, clear and cold.

I gave a loud, piercing noise of disapproval, squirming and making as much of a fuss as I can. I got picked up and dried, soon enough. But alarm bells are rapidly ringing in my head.

Brrr. Cold. I hate the cold. And am having a rather bad feeling that I'm naked. Sense of privacy, anyone?

...Maybe that warm hellhole was better. Hey! It was at least warm and comfy. Until the squishing happened…

Nevermind. I'm being wrapped in something warm and snuggly now…

And my ears are being cleaned. It actually feels really nice.

...But how did I get picked up so easily? The last I checked, I weighed almost 48kg…

I sighed. As some fictional character would say, troublesome.

"Congratulations, its a baby girl!" Someone spoke.

I froze.

...what?

I got transferred from one body heat to another rather quickly, held closer to laboured breathings.

"..A-ah, that's okay. She's h-healthy right? My baby girl..." The woman I'm near lovingly muttered.

W-What?! I'm… The last I remembered, I am a 26 year old Japanese volunteer nurse! Oh god, what happened?

Suddenly, she spasmed and let out a loud wail. I got taken from her arms and was put gently on something soft.

A few loud screams and plenty of encouraging voices later, another shrill scream was heard.

This one, sounded distinctly infant-like. Like mine.

I ignored the mental voice and focused on trying to open my eyes. Come on, it can't be that hard!

And so it wasn't.

I fluttered open my eyes, but I couldn't see anything. It's not that I'm blind or something, but everything is just so blur! Colours I can tell, but no definite shape or edges around anything I can see in my vision.

And this is way worse than when I had to wear my reading glasses, I mused.

But, I'm a baby, according to them.

A baby.

BABY.

And my mental faculties promptly shut down.

When in doubt, and delusional, don't do anything. Don't even think.

Yawning, I let my eyelids slowly droop over. This body is really, really weak. And practically hormonal. That's saying something as a female that personally experienced puberty.

Cooing, the woman picked me up again, cradling me close to her chest. Leaning closer, I saw something blue on her other side that did not move so much.

"Congratulations your Ladyship, a boy and a girl. The dragon and phoenix pair is sure to bring great honour to our Clan." Someone, probably the midwife, excitedly stated.

...Fraternal twins, eh?

Well, I'm in for the long ride….

It's not like a have a choice anyway. Sigh.

Finally, I let my (new) body's instincts take over. G'nite…

~.~.~.~

"a..aaa" I yawned sleepily. Blinking my eyes open, I was momentarily hit with confusion again.

Since when is my eyesight so suckish? I was never shortsighted. Or live in a place with so much wood.

Huh? I craned my neck to the side, trying to flip myself up.

...And I failed. Miserably.

Ah, damn. What's with me today? First a horrible dream about being hit by lightning and becoming a baby and and-

Wait.

Baby?

I experimentally stretched myself, only to find my motor functions grossly inadequate.

...Eh? It wasn't a dream after all?

Tears welled in my eyes. Ma, Pa, where am I?

Sniffling, I tried badly to control my tears. Ultimately, they still leaked out. I sobbed softly, looking out to the golden yellow skies beyond the doors.

Where am I? Where is this place? I want to go home!

Gradually, my sobs floated throughout the room, drawing the attention of my adult companion.

Someone padded over softly, cuddling me in her arms, cooing. "Hush hush dear, its alright. Are you hungry? Mama's going to feed you now."

To my surprise and eternal shame, she did. Imagine having an adult's mind in an infant's body that needs breastfeeding. I'm sure you can guess the rest.

After burping me and checking my diapers (the horror!), she slowly rocked me and sung a soothing lullaby that I never heard before. I admit, her voice is really, really gentle and calm, tempting me to sleep away my worries once more.

My emotions warred within me, namely guilt, apprehension, worry and a small, miniscule amount of excitement. Excitement at being an entirely new person, with no one to judge you.

But I rapidly squashed it. Worry won this round.

Her long black hair wasn't put up this time, so I could smell the jasmine fragrance from them. Hesitantly, I shyly looked up, curious about this woman I was born to. Curiosity will kill the cat, as some might say.

...I hate my new eyesight, have I ever told you that? Or at least, an infant's eyesight.

But it was then I noticed her hair actually looked slightly bluish, although it is rather dark and hard to notice. I slowly moved my hand over, trying to bring some strands closer to take a look.

Noticing my actions, 'Mama' laughed softly, bringing me closer to her face. Then I saw her eyes.

Shocked, I stilled.

My 'Mama's eyes were black. As in pure, charcoal black, that kind. Medical information roughly swarmed in my head, telling me the probability of such things actually happening stood a chance of-

Ouch.

My head spun again, most likely from information overload. Wow, apparently it seems true that a baby's mind really can't hold much thought at once.

Seeing as I actually stopped moving in her arms, she worryingly shifted me around, walking across the room. I snapped out of my pain induced daze, and gave her a slight smile. At this, she calmed considerably and smiled back.

Feeling slightly guilty at causing her worry, I silently promised myself not to give her trouble. After all, I still have an adult's consciousness so I can keep myself out of trouble as much as I can. Like not crying over spilt milk and the likes.

As I mentally laughed at myself for the stupid joke, 'Mama' left the room and sat on the porch.

"Nozomi. It's a beautiful name, ne Nozomi-chan?"

Curious, I turned to face her once more. Seeing as she had my attention again, she smiled widely.

"You're a sister now Nozomi-chan. Take care of Itachi-chan when Tou-chan and I are not around, kay?" She hummed.

Itachi? Itachi, Itachi, that name sounds familiar, where have I heard it before? Not everyday do you hear of someone being called Itachi.

Just then, 'Mama' stood up from the porch, walking into one of the nearby rooms.

My eyes took awhile to adjust to the different lighting, before focusing on the small cot I'm being carried towards.

'Mama' gently placed me beside a warm sky blue blanket and tucked me in with a pink one. Wondering, I inched closer to the shifting blankie, only to suddenly stare straight at the face of a sleeping baby clad in white pyjamas.

...I have to admit, seeing tear troughs on a baby's face is kinda creepy, no matter how small they seem to be right now. Chances are the troughs will become quite deep and prominent on their faces once they grow older.

But still, so cute! My little brother (because there is no other possibility) was drooling at the side of his mouth, sucking his thumb. Now that, is the entire picture of innocence.

Someone entered the room then, causing 'Mama' to spin around sharply to face the intruder.

Picking my baby brother in her arms, 'Mama' sighed worriedly. "So how is he?"

"He's fine, nothing wrong, the healer said. Just that they only need to monitor him for a few more weeks to give the all clear." The man grunted.

"That's great. Ne, Itachi?" 'Mama' cooed. "Say hello to Papa?"

The man grunted again, but I think I saw his face morph into a smile. Or maybe it was a trick of the light. Blame my eyesight.

As he turned to leave, the red and white thing on his back caught my eye. I suppose it was the coincidental angle or something, because I could finally make out the shape.

Uchiwa.

A red and white uchiwa emblazoned on the man's back. Just like the lanterns hanging outside.

Uchiwa. Itachi. My brother.

Itachi Uchiwa?

Just then, everything clicked.

Oh. OH.

I'm the twin sister of Uchiha-fucking-Itachi!

Oh god, my life is so screwed. As if dying once is not enough.

Sad to say, I immediately fainted upon reaching the conclusion.

Definitely not one of my proudest moments.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My brain's going haywire. It's official. No, really.

As dawn broke over the horizon, a new day begun in the Uchiha households in Konohagakure no Sato. In most of them, it is as uneventful and boring as ever. But not so much in the case of one of them.

Or more specifically, in the case of one baby.

On the surface, everything seems fine. But then again, how many people can actually testify that they have perfectly fine memories of another life, albeit in a slightly different world?

Namely, one with lots of technology and weapons, plus no ninja or chakra.

Did I mention chakra?

Yeah, you heard me.

Chakra.

The miracle, magical, life-giving substance that all the inhabitants of this world has. A vital lack thereof is nearly fatal, namely from chakra exhaustion.

Want to die? Chakra depletion.

Well, I morbidly mused, considering that even if once upon a long long time ago people here didn't have chakra, they are now born with it and hence cause their bodies to grow so dependant on it to survive. Thus literally can't live without it. Chakra is like probably the most potent drug ever. With it, you get high and maybe even use it to throw around those flashy jutsus for ninjas. And you can never cure that addiction. Or you die trying. Even for civilians.

Giggling to myself in the crib, I continued to stare at the dark wooden ceiling, making all sorts of funny faces in the process. Even though most of my old personality remained, the (literal) baby-ish mind does influence my behaviour.

And damn, it is irritating, And hell funny if you think about it.

Like staring at the walls and making up shapes in my mind. Then suddenly thinking about how cute my toes are compared to bunnies.

...Oh god, I'm not going insane am I?

I sincerely hope not.

Back to the point, if chakra is a drug, and it was actually artificially introduced to humans at some point by the Sage of Six Paths, then how did their bodies start producing them naturally in the end?

Hmm… food for thought.

Being not a complete and utter Naruto-tard, I only briefly chased through the manga. Aka. there are PLENTY of things I have absolutely no idea about.

Thinking about naturally occurring chakra…

I closed my eyes briefly, wondering if I can sense what my own chakra feels like. So many Naruto fans on forums and blogs all commented that our world probably don't have chakra or something so if we ever happen to be in Naruto-verse then WHAM! Some sort of auto ability to sense chakra. Cool right?

Calming my breathing, I attempted to lull my body into a meditative state. Considering that it took me 6 tries to succeed in an infantile body, I probably have a talent for becoming a monk. Maybe.

No, seriously, a baby's body is constantly so hyper-aware when not sleepy (oh yes, the irony), it is so difficult to calm down at all.

Turns out?

...No, dude. I seriously don't know. I don't even feel all that different!

Nope, yadda, nothing. Zilch.

I don't know what chakra feels like, how do I know how to find it at all? Sighing, I mentally noted what my body felt like, taking careful note of all the pudgy and soft fingers and toes through wiggling.

Well… I agree with my inner baby on this one. Even if I can't see them all that clearly, they are cute, honestly speaking.

...Forget it. I'm just being influenced by the baby, sadly.

Speaking of which, Itachi's my twin baby brother.

Itachi.

Brother.

Me.

How does that even fit in the same sentence?!

~.~

Flashback

"You're a big sister now Nozomi-chan. Take care of Itachi-chan when Tou-chan and I are not around, kay?"

~.~

Oh. I'm a big sister. Yayyyy-

…wait a minute. Wasn't Itachi the Clan Heir as well? How did they even determine the position in the first place?

Oh gosh. Oh gosh. I mentally flailed. Outwardly I stoned. But my eye twitched. Alot. No wonder people blame Uchiha's for their lack of facial expression. It's almost a genetic thing, I swear!

Breathe in. Breathe out. Rinse and repeat.

Breathe-

-It's not working. Sigh. Forget it.

I pouted, silently cursing the gods above for my newfound fate. Seriously, why me? I hate being pressurised and that's why I refused to take on the full time nursing job instead of the volunteer one. And besides, how did Itachi get kicked from the older brother position? It simply does not happen. He is Itachi, 'nouf said.

...Oh wait. I think I know.

Back then, in the womb of suffocation (horrible name, but meh.) something actually blocked me from being birthed first. Now that I think about it, the ONLY 'obstacle' that could possibly be is…

Crap.

I just had to be born first, didn't I?

...I totally asked for it. Even prayed that the gods were laughing. And laugh they did.

Sighing forlornly, I pulled my face into a frown. That was… unexpected to say in the least. Right now, I'm Uchiha Nozomi, older twin sister of Uchiha Itachi, and probable sister of Uchiha Sasuke, from the Uchiha Clan of Konohagakure no Sato, daughter to Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto, Clan Head and Matriarch respectively.

And technically, I'm the older sister of two genius shinobis in their own right. One who single-handedly murdered his entire clan save one overnight to prevent a civil war and the other who has potential to surpass Madara, another supposedly genius Uchiha shinobi that rose to the top of elites. Wow, no pressure or expectations. Right…

So what do I do now? I carefully mused the thought in my mind. The sun just rose, and 'breakfast' time for us won't happen till a few hours later. Or until Itachi-chan cries for food.

Technicalities. Technicalities...

Well… Older-Itachi massacred the Uchiha Clan to prevent a civil war outbreak in the Leaf, and because he loved the Village more than the ideals of the Clan. Sasuke rose up the ranks chasing his brother for the first half, but stood on his own feet in the end. But with a shitload of mental trauma in between.

And boy, that is plain creepy to think about.

So what do I do? Even till this day, living with (one of) them now, I still feel that they don't deserve the lives they had led in canon. Itachi's a good guy. Sasuke is just a traumatised kid. Both had derogatory lives that no one should ever willingly live through, even if Itachi forced himself to.

Sigh. Just thinking about the sacrifices he made just makes me so damn sad.

Poor Itachi-chan. Well, I'll just have to wing it. And be the best sister ever!

Turning my neck, I faced the sleeping baby. His expression was so peaceful, it was simply too hard to imagine him as nothing more than a mass murderer, unlike what many of Konoha's citizens eventually did after the massacre.

My eyes hardened. But first, the Uchiha Clan's elders need a hell lot of convincing as to why the Village is just as important as the Clan.

...Then again, the future isn't fixed...right?

Itachi gurgled while asleep, bringing my attention to the drool on his face again. I stared. His cheeks were so chubby with baby fat and so... CUTE!

…it's really pathetic that I'm distracted so easily.

Sighing, I turned my thoughts away from the sadder parts.

It's not time yet. At least it is still peaceful enough, so why not enjoy it while we can?

With that leftover thought, I snuggled up close to him once more, our shared body heat lulling me into deep slumber yet again.

Can't blame me, it's just too damn comfy.

Unknown to the two of us, Mikoto eventually came in upon this scene and smiled. Fishing out a camera, a photo was taken.

~.~.~.~

3rd Person's POV

Uchiha Nozomi, at first sight, looks like a typical female Uchiha. She's quiet, somewhat docile but with a backbone of steel when under pressure. And at the same time, she's nothing like the norm.

At 7 months old, she was brought into the 85th Clan meeting since the start of Sandaime Hokage's rule by Mikoto-sama, dressed in a light green hoodie and quiet but curious as all babies are. The glint in her eyes was the only clue otherwise.

As the council settled into the meeting, Uchiha Tatsuya, the Clan's financial advisor, started on the state of the Uchiha finances and produce being not up to par with before the entire Kyuubi mess. Elder Sei nodded while complaining that her old bones will not allow her to sit on the tatami mat today, so would Elder Tsuji please shove his wrinkly old butt off the only raised stool in the room. Naturally, as the stuck up bastard he is, he refused to budge. Both elders started to give crappy reasons about old bones and rather insensitive descendants, each remark getting progressively louder till hoarse arguments were flying loudly across the room.

As the two elders continued to squabble in coarse voices, one of the younger clansmen coughed politely before raising the issue of the new produce that is expected to enter Konoha's market in a couple of days' time. Elder Sei paused momentarily, before adding his two cents to arbitrarily raise their own produce prices. Elder Tsuji disagreed and some of the other clansmen backed him.

And from there, the meeting descended into a mess of complaints, whines and curses before being silenced by a downright creepy glare by the Clan Matriarch herself, holding her daughter's ears closed tightly.

Fugaku glowered. No one was really taking him as Clan Head that seriously since he was newly appointed. Furthermore, the shouting mess will soon descend into a brawl from the look of things.

Meanwhile, Nozomi blinked, tilting her head to the side before smirking as much as a baby could. She wriggled slightly, until Mikoto let her off. Proceeding to crawl right to the middle of the room, she tugged on Elder Tsuji's pants. When he eventually looked down, she gave a toothy smile before scrunching up her face while sitting on his leg.

And pooped.

Stunned, no one moved. Little Nozomi then lifted her arms in the universal 'carry me' gesture to the nearby Mikoto, saying "Stinky oyaji!" with gusto. Albeit with less accurate pronunciation but still understood just as well.

Fugaku's jaw dropped. Mikoto looked faintly amused. The other clan elders were bristling in their seats and the rest of the council were speechless.

The tension was broken. People were scrambling out of the small enclosed room even before Fugaku could give an official dismissal as the smell permeated. In spite of the chaotic scramble for fresher air, Fugaku proudly carried his daughter back to their house, not minding the soiled clothes and even gave her one of his own extremely rare affectionate hugs.

Her first word. First two, actually. And she helped to diffuse a situation he could not solve since two weeks prior.

What a genius little girl he has!

~.~.~.~

Normal POV

Back home, I sat upright in the high stool left near the counter after being cleaned. Mikoto was busy preparing some stuff and is taking quite a long while. With nothing to occupy my already short attention span, I zoned out.

Did you know the Main house in the Uchiha district is at least one and a half times bigger than other clan houses within the compound? Seriously. And considering that a typical clan house itself is like the size of 2 to 3 basketball courts…

Woah.

It still ceases to amaze me to no end. And that reminds me, my eyesight is finally improving! Yay!

I no longer have to squint to make out the details of the stuff I see and oh boy, this is awesome.

Apparently, due to our inherited kekkai genkai, the Sharingan, as Mum explained to me a few days prior, Uchihas are all naturally born with perfect eyesight. And usually with an affinity to be able to track moving things and see clearly even in long distances.

Okay, not very far, but I can now easily make out a person's face from like 4 houses away. Without the Sharingan. Cool right?

Ah, ah, back to the point. Apparently, it's now lunchtime.

Which means….mushed apple porridge!

Ew. I hate porridge.

As I scrunched up my face in disgust, Mikoto tutted, waving the spoon in front of me. "Nozomi-chan! You'd better eat. This apple is good for you!"

I shook my head. No, I was not eating rice that was over cooked in water. In fact, any other form of rice is preferable. But seriously, who eats fruit with porridge?

And no, tomatoes don't count. (To the future Sasuke. Hehehe...)

I continued to furiously shake my head, denying Mikoto the opportunity to stuff the abominable thing into my mouth. Eventually, Mikoto just sat and stared at me, putting the spoon back into the bowl before folding her hands on her lap. I noticed, and stared right back.

She sighed forlornly. "Nozomi-chan, it's just apple porridge, why don't you want to eat it? There really isn't much I can feed you yet since your teething only just started."

Damn. Stupid teething.

Silently dragging my tongue over my gums and three little baby tooths, I mentally cursed all whom gave babies toothaches.

Yes. Toothaches. Ever wondered why babies and toddlers like to chew and bite onto stuff even when they're not hungry? That's because Mother Nature decided to introduce the arrival of teeth by making it itchy. Ever had a persistent mosquito follow you around giving love bites? Imagine that happening in your mouth. Hence I say toothache.

Owwie. I mentally cursed in all the other languages I know of.

"Nozomi-chan, please eat your porridge." Mikoto drooped her eyes sadly, immediately making my guilt flare up.

Oh right. First time parents who are learning to deal with fussy toddler behavior. And I'm definitely not making it any easier for them. Oops.

...at least I didn't throw a temper.

…

...

...Dammit, how can a fully grown adult pull off puppy eyes?! I'm supposed to be the one doing it here!

Silently cursing my luck, I opened my mouth wide. And I swear, Mikoto's eyes sparkled as she fed me that dreaded apple smelling yellowish gloop.


	3. Chapter 3

Itachi... is a good boy.

There really is no other word for it.

And no Tobi, you are nowhere close to the Uchiha prodigy.

But still, this is all really confusing.

At the nice round number of 8 months old, Itachi finally started making cohesive babbles like any other normal babies. Given that I obviously need a measuring stick to mark my 'developmental progress', there is absolutely no way I could follow Itachi's speed of comprehension even at this age, although his physical reactions tend to be accurate enough for myself to emulate.

Remembering how the Uchiha genius was so stressed out and eventually forced to make the ultimate decision - to choose between his family, his village, or his personal love in the manga, there was absolutely no way I wanted to be labeled as a prodigy. No fucking way.

And I used to pride myself on having slightly better than average intelligence in my own world.

Even so, at 8 months my little brother's leaps and bounds of deduction by pure logic alone squished that thought. Humble much?

Like when Mikoto points at a picture or object while explaining the meaning of it, he never gets confused or forgets.

Damn, it really is pretty demoralising to know that someone younger than you is already miles ahead in that aspect. I couldn't resist pouting at that thought.

Every time after dinner, Mikoto would coo and lift both of us into her lap, settling down comfortably on the quilt that she lay on the tatami mats. Fugaku as usual, would grunt and act strict, but the proud and loving gaze he always had on such occasions always gave him away.

Well, ever since I managed to 'talk' to that irritating old codger (he TOTALLY deserves it), Mikoto has been trying to get me to speak or babble more.

And me, being stubborn and with a sadistic streak just as wide as a certain baby hitman's, refused.

Yes, I'm really that naughty. But they don't ever suspect that I'm doing it on purpose. After all, who in the right mind will ever suspect a toddler to be capable of perfectly rational thought and still defy logic. Nyehhhhhh~

At most I just made more random noises and drooled when I wanted something. That's also pretty effective. Believe me I tried.

As always, Mikoto would start off by speaking in short and simple sentences to Fugaku, to emulate us into speaking by following their footsteps, which I could obviously comprehend decently enough even with their slightly different usage of Japanese. It's almost like a dialect version, but as I was a native, the nuances are slightly easier for me to pick apart.

There's the verb structure and terminology for different scenarios, for example, that are different from what I learnt in a 21st century school. But other than that, its all pretty much the same, so I really had to keep myself from reacting at times when Mikoto actually decided to crack a crude joke or two to her husband.

And well, since I was old enough to understand...

*Ahem* I ducked my head, trying to hide my grin and rapidly reddening face.

Dammit. How am I not gonna draw suspicions from them, seriously?

Trying very hard to put on my well practiced poker face for such scenarios, I avoided all eye contact with the adults in the room, choosing to squeeze closer to Itachi instead.

Itachi, the little kid just turned his wide curious eyes at me, causing me to inwardly squeal.

Mikoto drilled that into me long ago: Uchiha girls do not squeal out loud if they can avoid it. We must maintain the impression of not being fangirls even if we are secretly one. Clan pride.

And yes, so here I am, cuddling with my number one idol with all the toddler strength I can muster to express my happiness at my new situation.

Plus since we're twins, no one can fault us at this age to seek company with each other ALL THE TIME right?...

*chuckles evilly inside*

Itachi, the poor kid was probably confused over my actions since I wasn't a really physical person most of the time, so he babbled "nee chwan?" while tilting his head in a very adorable manner.

I promptly looked up from his shoulder and hugged around his neck, mushing my face in his hair.

SO CUTE. I'M ABOUT TO DIE FROM FLUFF.

Our parents finally noticed our situation, when Itachi, in all his innocent confusion of not knowing how to react mumbled "Nee-chan okay?" loud enough for them to hear while wrapping himself around me.

Bless that little guy, he's just too damn nice.

Even at that age, you can sorta tell the person he would probably be from his actions alone. Every gesture he makes is pretty much calculated to bring a person comfort and probably keep them happy, so he never resisted when it was bath or changing diaper time. Or when he was fed something that he didn't like.

Mikoto always mutters under her breath "I think their genders were switched or something. Aren't girls supposed to be good and docile while the boys are making trouble?"

Me, being her little hellion as opposed to Itachi the fluffy angel, heard that comment and promptly promised myself to drag my otouto into whatever shit situations I get into. I swear.

Mikoto finally huffed, cracking a smile when she realised I was totally fine, just pouting at the both of them for interrupting my 'cuddle-time' with my favourite person. Fugaku smoothly grabbed a book from the bookshelf at the far back before giving a slight cough, proceeding to do our nightly readings.

Well, given that my language isn't really up to par here (on a native's viewpoint), I definitely need to learn, plus the fact that I still don't know if the writing is even the same since I didn't really have much of an opportunity to view the written literature. Still seated comfortably in Mikoto's lap with Itachi, we sat up attentively, hanging on to every word from his lips that wove the web of an illusionary world around us.

When Fugaku finally closed the book, signalling the end of storytime, we were rather sleepy and gave a couple of yawns.

Smiling tenderly, our parents each picked us up and promptly carted us back into our nursery room that they recently converted into a more spartan outlook because of that one time I slipped out of the crib and crawled right into Mikoto on the veranda outside, giving her a huge shock. Oops?

Now it is rather sparsely decorated, with barely any furniture save for one bookshelf (stuffed with blankets and clothes rather than books) and a couple of futons with cushions laid together on the floor, according to Mikoto's wise theory: if they are already on the floor, how can they possibly fall?

I agree. Since I can now freely cuddle with Itachi as I am no longer being obstructed.

Giving a huge jaw-breaking yawn, I mashed my face into Mikoto's shoulder, too tired to even move anymore. Being at my current physical age means that you need sleep for around half a day. And being cuddled so protectively in a warm environment... man, life's awesome.

My mind just then traitorously supplied, whispering the devil words into my head.

'But you'll never know when you'll lose them all, with the Massacre still ahead...'

~.~.~

...Why is life so unfair?

Pouting under my white hoodie, I clenched my fists tightly into Fugaku's brown overcoat. Now's late autumn, nearing winter and the weather is still turning colder and colder. As a result, they are readjusting the guard detail around the districts and are changing shifts more often in preparation for the upcoming change in seasons. Scarfs and cotton paded jackets are starting to be distributed around the entire compound, as part of the pre-existing directive to provide for all Clan inhabitants, regardless of income size. No wonder the Uchiha clansmen are so loyal to everyone in the clan.

And since Fugaku is Clan Head and I'm pretty much the Heir...

I shivered. The chilly air out in the open at night is not fun. As an annual tradition, the Clan Head has to organise the latest batch of winter articles to be distributed to all households, while I'm supposed to 'watch and learn' as he goes about it once my physique is strong enough not to catch a cold almost immediately in open air.

At nearly midnight.

Smart people, smart.

The warm orange glow from the doorway tantalised my eyes, drawing me to the homely scene happening. Craning my neck beyond Fugaku's head as he carried me away from the doorstep, I stared longingly at what I wish was happening to me.

Damn, I'm jealous.

Itachi is currently cozing under the kotatsu with Mikoto while being fed one of the Clan district's famous red bean soup from Setsumo-san's stall since he technically has no 'duties', that lucky little guy.

But nooooo.

I'm out here, stuck in the cold air and sniffling pathetically with my poor, frozen nose. I decided to sneeze.

Finally taking notice of my shriveled, depressed figure, Fugaku shifted me around his arms, turning me to face him. "What's the matter Nozomi-chan?"

I still tried to keep line of sight with what I want most right then.

Following my distracted gaze, he huffed. "Huh. You can have the red bean soup later. I reserved an entire steaming pot for you, so you can eat as much as you want even if Itachi finishes that bowl."

Oh, I see. He likes me more.

"And besides, this is good experience for you to learn to manage the Clan and to do your duties well. After all, with all these lessons, my awesome daughter will do her daddy proud one day right?"

Dammit. I did not ask for this. Why am I here to suffer? Why? I thought despairingly.

Too preoccupied with my own thoughts, I did not notice my torturer slowly walk towards the nearby pond. Nor see him take a bowl of water until its too late.

Splash!

"Eeeeep!" I jumped.

I glared morosely. Fugaku gave the patented Uchiha smirk.

"Learn to not ignore your elders oh daughter of mine."

Screw you.

As I pouted, Fugaku swung me up onto his shoulder and continuing to walk around the compound, chatting lightly with the random passerby's after waving away each and every one of them from bowing every single time as tradition precedes.

Dammit. Not only am I cold, but dripping wet as well. Stupid ninja child-rearing techniques.

As I continued to shiver miserably near his head, my teeth chattering in the cold wind, I pressed myself tightly to him, feeling some of the cold water leak into his shirt and back.

Ha! Eat that!

Yep, I'm a vindictive bitch at this point in time.

Finally taking pity on me, he took a towel hanging on the clothes line near us and handed a towel to me before setting me on the ground to make sure I dry myself properly. When I was finally done, he simply put the towel where it belonged before lifting me again, intent on finishing his rounds. Still having an adult's perspective, I immediately understood his motive and felt worry for him.

He was quite literally tricked into being the Uchiha clan head, as the previous one was a batty old codger very few could understand. From what I had heard so far, the previous clan head on his death bed simply mumbled in gibberish before pointing a wrinkled finger at Fugaku.

"I choose you to be my successor."

And then he offed. Just like that.

Needless to say, as most Uchiha elders are uptight bastards with unmentionable things shoved so far up their asses since a millennia ago, they simply could not accept the old codger's choice, citing that 'he was not right in his head the whole time anyway'.

Fugaku, in a fit of inspiration, spoke "and as we all know, Honourable Elders, you were the ones to elect him at the start anyway, as he was not from the Main family in the past." His voice echoed clearly in the room, shutting the mouth of the rather vehemently disagreeing elders who curled their lips in distaste.

With no further prerogative, Fugaku was officially elected and instated as Clan Head the very next day.

He proudly lifted me in the air, grinning triumphantly at one-upping those old bats that simply refused to die and make way for fresher blood. His words, not mine.

Yes, I am rather proud of you daddy. Now I can claim I inherited my wit from someone.

But, it is precisely because of his... weird election, some of the older clansmen and elders did not see him fit to rule as Head. These people tend to passively sabotage Fugaku's decision making for Clan matters and bringing the overall success of campaigns down, but never actively or in public.

The Uchiha Clan is one that strongly instills Clan pride and a sense of belonging among its members, teaching children from young to be as loyal to the Clan as you are to the Village as one of the noble founding Clans of Konoha since Shodai Hokage's time.

And it would not do if outsiders do not see the Clan as one cohesive unit, strong to any challenge or issue they face, would it?

...Wow, the propaganda is even getting to me.

But still, all these setbacks are really affecting Fugaku's capacity to act as a leader, which will also be bad in the long run. As his own counter, he decided to personally visit all the homes and families of the Clan in 'unofficial' capacity to interact with the other branches and boost the overall morale of the clansmen and at the same time, raise his own popularity.

Or you could say, testing the waters. Hey, ninja. Known to be sneaky sneaky for a reason. Or as Kakashi would say? 'Always look underneath the underneath'.

And at look what I found.

In the Uchiha clan itself, getting to recieve the Head personally in your house is like on the equivalent 'wow' factor like getting a visit from the Hokage himself for just tea. Saying that many were over the moon is inadequate a description.

So far, its all good, seeing as we had just rounded the 47th house and there was genuine approval in the inhabitants thus far.

...Okay, this is plain irritating. I'm bored.

I wriggled vehemently in Fugaku's arms, insistent on being let down to run about. As if against my thoughts, he gripped me even tighter, though not enough to hurt. Fugaku may look and sound mean to some, but he's really just a big softie inside. Just like Post-Massacre Itachi.

Hm. Maybe it actually does run in the family?

Being the awesome toddler I am, I threw a silent temper that Fugaku totally ignored, gripping his clothes tightly in my fists as he carried me in front on one hand. He's probably too used to my antics by now, though he chuckled for a bit. As we approached the main entrance guard sentries, they gave a low bow while murmuring "Fugaku-sama. Nozomi-sama. What can we do for you?"

My ears perked up at this. The guard sentries were always the last to be visited as per tradition. Which means I can go back to my warm, comfy bed reallyyyyy soon. Dad or not, he'd not deprive me of my comfort zone.

Fugaku offhandedly waved away their concern, slowly bringing up a small chat with them. Being ever the power worshipers, they more than happily complied, speaking in rapid fire Japanese that I barely caught in their twisted dialect. Wisps of the conversation floated past me as I tuned it out, finding it too dry for my tastes.

...Hang on a sec. I heard something about Kyuubi?

Wasn't the Kyuubi released to attack Konoha AFTER Sasuke was born?

Huh?!

Turning my shocked face towards them, my eyes widened almost comically in disbelief as the adults continued to chat away, seemingly having not seen my expression.

"Someone unleashed the Kyuubi near Taki a couple of days ago. I heard it crushed a third of their village flat."

"Y-you mean?..."

"The Jinchuuriki lost control after a couple of tails, if the rumours are true. Apparently, even Uzu's seal ain't that good after all."

Er, what? That totally sounded like what happened to Naruto at the Wave event.

"Hn. The Hokage curtailed the issue long before it rose too much anyway." Fugaku grunted. "He sent a missive as a token sum of apology to them and smoothed over the reconstruction of their village. Intelligence covered up most of it, but majority of the rumours were saying its a Leaf nin."

"A Jinchuuriki Leaf nin?" Someone spat out disgustedly.

Finally snapping out of my shock, I calmed down. Oh. So that's what they meant by 'the entire Kyuubi mess' at the council.

"Yeah, but those Ryō could be better spent ya know... And besides, they never told us who the Jinchuuriki is. Makes sense, since they obviously couldn't control that monster." He spat.

Ah, the Jinchuuriki hate. Why am I not surprised?

But it still doesn't really make sense, now that I think about it. What happened? Why did anyone unleash Kyuubi's power?

Cracking a yawn, I snuggled closer to Fugaku's chest, slowly falling into a daze. Really sleepy now that I had gotten so worked up...

I ended up falling asleep on the cold autumn night while preoccupied with thought, cuddled softly in my father's warm embrace. By the time the adults finally noticed something, they all cracked soft smiles and ended the conversation. Little Uchiha-hime needs to go back home to sleep eh?

...At the end of it I didn't get my red bean soup after all. It was finished by the time I woke up dammit!


	4. Chapter 4

Its kinda weird how time flies when you don't notice it.

Stepping lightly on my feet, I traversed the hallway making as little sound as possible. "Cat-foot" as some people might say. I agree.

Walking lightly truly is a skill. There are 2 types of "Cat-walking" here that I finally figured out after so many months. A shinobi's profession is truly dangerous. Either you sense the enemy or the enemy senses you first.

The first type, is walking on your heel - the one most Chūnin and below usually do. When you do so, you must be wearing some kind of shoe or sock for it to be most effective. This is what ninja's are trained to learn and do in the Academy, although it takes years of practise to be able to grasp the correct rhythm to prevent squeaking sounds when you walk. Luckily for me, I was bored enough last time plus the fact that I hated drain covers and huge puddles of water. So I actually had some basic theory on skirting over these surfaces as silently as possible.

Unluckily for me, ninja are completely combat-orientated. As such, being able to consciously walk silently is never going to be enough. In real time battle, veterans are well known to throw ambushes while SPRINTING in the middle of a taijutsu battle.

Walking silently must come to a ninja as easily as breathing. It is instinctive, done without thought and well-oiled to the point of pinpoint precision.

Which brings me to the next type - stepping on the ball of foot. This one is the hardest of all, and most shinobi use chakra to help stick their feet to the ground, for there is a high tendency for most people to slide. This one truly is a chore to learn, for the distance and type of flooring must be judged accurately before you even lift your feet off the ground.

The thing is, walking on the ball of foot is the mark of a trained veteran. You need the agility, coordination and the correct depth perception to pull it off properly - what someone who did martial arts usually has. This is something that I actually managed to see the high ranking well-oiled front line soldiers in my previous life actually pull off during combat drills.

Which proves that it can actually be done without chakra.

Cursing as I slipped yet again, I walked back to the end of the hallway for my 134th re-try.

Because most shinobi use chakra to augment the Cat-foot technique, it is pretty logical to deduce that sensors would have been trained to check for tracks using these chakra trails. Plus the fact that Taijutsu more than makes up for it in the martial arts department as something that shinobi live and die by.

And setting myself up to fall into enemy's hands because of that is just plain stupid, in my opinion.

Muffling another curse as I slipped, I returned to the starting point.

I really don't want to die. And since the Uchiha Clan is combat-oriented, me being Clan Heir means that I must be a high-ranking kunoichi to keep my position. Say all you want, but Itachi's still a genius - there is absolutely no fucking way I can overtake him in traditional shinobi practices and even in intellect.

I have no choice but to make up for all my shortcomings in skill. If Itachi becomes Clan Heir instead of me... my gut feeling warns that it will become pure Canon all over again. As the more experienced ninjas always say: Trust your gut feeling. It will save your life over and over again.

I'm Uchiha Nozomi, and I'm here to stay. If I can't prevent the massacre, I will still at least fucking do SOMETHING about it.

This is no longer just a story... this is my life now. I want my family - I don't want to lose  _them_  all over again!

~.~.~

As of 11 months old and still going strong, bedtime reading is getting... boring. Fugaku sometimes was too stressed out to think of new stories to tell us and Mikoto sometimes was too busy putting some of the Elders out of arms reach of us. Today was just one of those days.

Itachi had long fallen asleep at my side curling into himself, with Mikoto on the opposite end, absently stroking my hair. Fugaku yawned sleepily, all pretense of decorum gone, the eye-bags telling the entire story for itself.

Rapid knocks on the paper thin door drew our attention, which opened to a harrowed shinobi drenched with sweat and scented of panic. Fugaku strode across the room to address the flustered messenger, effectively blocking my view of the open doorway.

"Uchiha-sama. The Hokage has issued a draft for 3 squads of genjutsu specialists for the valley near Taki as per Uzushiogakure's request. He would like to know if you have anyone in mind." The messenger respectfully nodded to Mikoto. "Of course, it would be good if Mikoto-sama chooses to take part, but if..." Fugaku held up his hand.

The prized Sharingan is famous for its genjutsu casting abilities. The famed dojutsu of Konoha must be used when needed.

"I'm sure she'll decide for herself."

"Yes sir."

"You may leave." The messenger Chūnin leapt away silently, not looking back at the scene he caused.

Being a high ranking Clan kunoichi with barely year old kids -  _twins!_  , it was apparently optional for Mikoto to sign up for the draft, unlike most of the other genjutsu specialists.

I clenched my fist in Mikoto's sleeve, bowing my head in deep thought, causing her to glance at me in concern.

"Nozomi-chan? What's the matter?"

Uzushiogakure?... The Whirlpool village? The one where Uzumaki's were from! Kushina and Karin! My eyes widened in shock at the realisation.

Right now, the Whirlpool village is still alive and healthy if they are in contact with Konoha!

Lifting my head to look at Mikoto, I gave a toothy smile. "Kaa-chan go?"

Mikoto softened her eyes and gave an indulgent smile. "After all the trouble of having to raise you and Itachi? I'm afraid not this time. I would at least like to see my children's first birthday."

"...uh?" I tilted my head in incomprehension.

"Silly child," Mikoto cooed, drawing me into her lap, placing her chin on my head. "Fugaku, I'm not going. Send Kyo and Shuri in my place. Those two Chūnin specialists are good enough to make up for one less Jōnin going." Fugaku nodded, leaving the room to report to the Tower.

"Nozomi-chan, Itachi-chan, Kaa-chan loves you two. The Kyuubi that Uzushiogakure is trying to seal into another container is not going to be without casualties for sure. At least I would be able to celebrate with my family before I'm off to face Shinigami-sama."

"Now's peacetime, so this is one luxury the Clan born are afforded and orphans will never have. If you are good and you have offspring, chances are your child might be as good as you, or have the potential to be even better." Mikoto continued, unaware of my facial expression. "Then again, Konoha's a village that's all about teamwork among ninjas. If a mother dies, at least her clan can take care of her child, or pass them to the orphanage. But, being a ninja is a part of life and death once you sign up, and what they don't tell you until its too late."

Oh. But this is just...

My eyes started watering. Reality crashed back down onto me.

_Ba-dump._

Even this may or may not be part of the canon Naruto world I once knew... you never know when will things go wrong and people never make it back.

_Ba-dump. Ba-dump._

I understood. I once stood on a war front, in the front lines medic tent. The corpses, fatally wounded soldiers and grieving comrades, all with blood-boiling agitation of the situation.

_Ba-dump. Ba-dump._

Pick a choice; between your duty or your family.

_Ba-dump. Ba-dump._

Hiccuping, I buried my face in Mikoto's sleeve, futilely blocking my small sobs.

That was a close call.

_I don't want to lose her so soon!_

~.~.~

"ngh... Huh?" I sleepily rubbed my eyes, rolling myself up into a siting position as careful as I can so as to not wake my sleeping twin up.

A shadow was swinging on the paper door of the nursery, illuminated by the moonlight. It is a rather curious shape that somehow looked like a human, yet not. Being the ever so curious person, I quickly crawled as quietly and silently as I can to the door, dragging it open just wide enough to see.

Shocked, my jaw dropped to the floor.

This...sucks.

And it is so, so humiliating.

I stared blankly at the intruder, willing myself not to twitch. This is so ridiculous beyond the point of being funny!

Namikaze Minato, the future Yondaime Hokage was currently being hanged just outside the doorway bound in ropes akin to what looks like bondage. I should know since I went to a co-ed school that had your wonderfully hormone driven neighbourhood kids.

And his... face.

For the love of god, that is just...

His face is purple from being hung up by his shins for too long, the blood having accumulated in his head. Not to mention the splotches of glitter and ...paint.

All I can say is that whoever came up with this paint job either has one hell of an imagination depicting a Nyan cat that did not exist here. Or just a nut job.

My left eye twitched.

And besides, isn't Minato a Jōnin or something right now? His promotion was rather celebrated by some of his louder friends. Not to mention the popularity he has among his ninja peers. Seeing as the Uchiha were a ninja oriented clan, we had one of the best information and gossip mills in the village, with the plus of the Military Police members to give the civilian side of the juicy bits.

Oh and did I mention something? The poor strung up guy is currently  _sleeping_.

What. The. Hell.

Still crouched on the floor wrapped in my blue blanket cocoon, I stared at the beyond-hilarious scene in front of me.

What just happened here?! 

_I wish I had a camera. Blackmail, ya know?_


	5. Chapter 5

The next most interesting event in my second life apart from that was my first birthday.

Ain't that just... sad.

"...-ke up Nozomi-chan. Wakey wakey~" Mikoto cooed in a sing-song voice, lightly shaking me out of my sleep induced drowsiness.

"...unya?" I blurrily peered up at Mikoto, quietly rubbing my eyes while wondering why she decided to wake me up so damn early in the morning before the sun even rose.

"Ah, you're up. Itachi's already up and ready, and after you get washed we are going somewhere."

"Where?" I attempted to pat down my messy bed hair, eliciting a chuckle from her.

"It's your birthday remember? Well, your's and Itachi's. We're going to celebrate it at a dojo near a friend's house, as an apology for the commotion she caused last night."

'Commotion?' I blearily toddled to the bathroom with Mikoto, clutching tightly to my wonderfully fluffy green towel. 'What commotion?'

While I soaked happily in the lukewarm bath, she explained that there was a prank ongoing last night and Mikoto only got a last minute warning, just enough to prevent the guard alarms from being raised around the compound. To say that Fugaku was grumpy as a result was an understatement.

After the bath, Mikoto unwrapped a white cloth package to reveal a rather expensive looking material decorated in lily embroidery, turning me around to help me dress.

"What?" I scrunched up the material with my pudgy barely-coordinated fingers.

"It's your clothes for the celebration Nozomi-chan. Uchiha's are never stingy with festivals and events," Mikoto smiled. "And you look rather pretty in it. Maybe even some cute boys might start coming in..." She hummed thoughtfully.

...What? "N-no!" I spluttered. "I play with Itachi!"

Mikoto turned amused eyes at my horrified expression, patting my head lightly

"Alright, alright. You can choose who to play with Nozomi-chan." Mikoto placated me, promising the fact.

Fun fact: Uchiha's rarely give promises of their own accord. Because you can be sure as hell they will follow through.

Winning the situation, I sat back with a huff. 'Totally close call. Having to imagine being hitched up with some old guy is NOT a fun thought at all.'

Taking Mikoto's petite but firm hand, we walked down the well traveled streets of Konoha to stop at one of the largest antique dojo's in town. Just as we stepped through the threshold, a flying red blur nearly crashed into Mikoto, almost causing me to tumble.

"Mikoto-chan! I miss you already!" The red-head all but whined.

Sighing, Mikoto lightly tugged her off, which the kunoichi readily complied when she saw the ankle-biter staring up at her less than amused.

"Oh my, who is this Mikoto-chan?"

I ducked behind Mikoto, suddenly intimidated by the presence of the famous Jinchuuriki of the events in my head.

My mother chuckled, easily pushing me in front of her. "This is Nozomi-chan, one of the twins I told you about." Mikoto sighed dreamily, placing a hand on her cheek. "If I would say Itachi-chan's the angel, Nozomi-chan's the devil. A bit too much like you when you were younger for my liking, Kushina-chan."

Heh. Right. Itachi's the angel of death and I'm the devil of life itself.

"This is Kushina-chan, my childhood friend. You will probably get on well with her Nozomi-chan." Mikoto smiled sweetly at me, before it turned sharp when facing the Jinchuuriki.

"Now Kushina-chan. What do you have to say for yourself for setting up a prank in the dead of the night in the middle of the Clan compound, hm?"

Ah, there it is. The menacing aura that Mikoto used to produce to scare me into a confession when she knew I pulled a prank on one of the stuck up Clan kids. Never mess with a Genjutsu mistress if you want your head to stay intact.

"A-ah well, thats..." Kushina raised both hands in a failed attempt to placate the irate mother of two, slowly backing into a nearby wall. Mikoto had the scary purple aura nearly 3 times bigger than when she used it on me, making the other kunoichi start sweating buckets.

I tugged on Mikoto's sleeve. "Someone outside door... last night?"

Both of them froze. One in fear and the other in righteous anger. "Kushina... I hope you have a better explanation for why my impressionable one year old daughter caught sight of whatever you did to your boyfriend..." Mikoto all but growled through clenched teeth.

"Eh..hehe..? I didn't know that room was occupied..." Kushina sheepisly rubbed her forehead before suddenly stilling.

Rubbing the activated paralysing tag on her best friend's shoulder in satisfaction, Mikoto called out a warning over her shoulder before carrying me inside the dojo. "For your own safety, don't remove the tag until I'm back!"

~.~.~

Deposited rather gracelessly into the roomy dojo by an irate Mikoto who obviously went back to chew her friend out, Nozomi blinked, rather dumbfounded at the turn of events.

Completely lost, she turned to seek help from her only other companion her age currently in that place.

"Ne, 'Tachi-chan?"

"Mm?" Her brother was happily chewing on dango, some sticky white bits still stuck on his cheek while he turned to face her, his gold threaded dark purple male kimono slightly wrinkled from his seating position on the mat cushion. His sweet tooth erupted not too long ago, courtesy of his twin with the same weakness since the previous life.

"Who's that baka?"

"Hey!" came the undignified shout from the toddler nearby, having overheard the staged whisper.

"I'll have you know that I'm older!" The boy puffed out his cheeks, placing his hands on the hips in a seemingly obnoxious manner.

"I'm sure," She snarked, "So loud inside."

He momentarily spluttered before catching himself, giving Nozomi the stink eye. "I'm Shisui, and I'm 4 this year. You can't be older than me." He grinned.

"Right." She drawled. "I'm Nozomi. My cute brother there is Itachi-chan. Pleased to meet you, cousin. Kaa-chan said a lot about you."

"Eh?" Shisui turned red in the face. "But aren't you only like what, one or something? Be more respectful. Hmph."

This time it was Nozomi's turn to grin. "Well, you see, I'm smarter. So, you suck. Suck it up, cousin." Childish insults FTW.

"Oi! Show some respect for you elders brat!" Shisui huffed, though the quirk of his lips removed any bite from his words. "I'm older, so I'm smarter! Kids like you don't know anything about being a ninja anyway." He smirked, happily boasting to the younger, impressionable kids. "And besides, I'm already training with kunai and shuriken and I'll be attending the academy soon. Bet 'cha don't even know what those are."

Nozomi raised an eyebrow, "Kunai are metal daggers that ninjas use, and shuriken likewise, to throw." Shisui paused. "And besides, we could very well ask for early enrollment as Clan Heirs' you know. Tou-chan is more than happy to get to beat the Hatake's record."

Shisui blanched, pride at stake. "That's because…"

"Hm… well?" Nozomi tapped a foot impatiently on the tatami mats, putting even more pressure on Itachi's soon-to-be friend.

"Er… that's –"

_Bang!_  "Sorry I'm late!" A rather wayward ninja rushed into the dojo, face slick with sweat and hair poofed up in all sorts of places with leaves stuck in them, the blue standard Konoha hitai-ate securely in place on his forehead and the unmistakable orange tinted goggles placed just below it. "I had to help an old woman cross the street and rescue a black cat from a tree."

"… Aaaand who's baka Number Two?" She internally sniggered. Oh, the lame excuses. Nozomi could barely wait to hear the rest.

Spluttering, Uchiha Obito came up to the trio of future-Academy-enrolled kids sitting near the doorway while attempting to pick the leaves off his head. Itachi hid a snort, though his smile gave his thoughts away.

"Nee-chan, rude."

"Mouth full." Nozomi pointed directly at Itachi's forehead, causing him to squint cross-eyed

Tinted rose cheeks coloured quickly on his otherwise pale baby face, tilting down in shyness and guilt. "Kaa-san says food. I eat." He pouted petulantly.

…Was that a pout she saw there?

Squealing, Nozomi lunged at Itachi, hugging him close. "Haha, widdle-'Tachi-chan kawaii!"

Itachi actually looked up, and believe it or not, he flushed. "Am not! I'm a good boy! It's Nee-chan…" He mumbled the last part.

"Aww, someone's being cute…"

Cue groaning and slapping of foreheads. "Shut up you two. I don't wanna know." The five year old glared at them. Well, not a glare exactly. On his young face it still looked more like an annoyed expression rather than the patented Uchiha glare. Obito snickered, before he morphed his expression to a confused one. "Wait, so, who are you two?"

Nozomi slouched, with Itachi blinking blankly at the newcomer. "We are the birthday kids, savvy?" She muttered.

"Uh huh..?" Obito had a dazed expression, staring off into space trying to figure out who they are. Shaking his head, he smiled widely at us with an introduction. "I'm Uchiha Obito, nice to meet ya!"

Yep, not the typical Uchiha. I can totally see what happens if Shisui is gonna continue clinging to him if those gooey eyes are any indicator of a childish worship.

Catching on quickly, Itachi pulled his sister into a proper sitting position. "I'm Itachi, and she's Nozomi-nee-chan. Today's our first birthday." He fell into a shallow bow to the older ninja.

"Err, right." Obito grinned. "So that makes you the kids of the Clan Head huh? I can see why it's so important now heh!"

"…Wait a minute. You mean to say you guys are both ONE?" Obito had all but shouted, causing some of the adults in the room making preparations to give him the evil eye, making him blush in embarrassment. "Oops..." He rubbed his head sheepishly.

Nozomi smirked, drawing out her reply. "Yep we're smart, and fluency goes a long way in preparing you for the big world outside." Still staring at Obito's dumbfounded expression, she snickered. "Well, no one said anything about talking to kids anyway. Plus you're still a brat."

Shisui flushed together with his idol. "Shut up Nozomi-chan. Don't insult Obito like that!"

"Yeah!"

Itachi tugged on her dark pink kimono, drawing her attention back. "Yeah yeah whatever. Tou-chan's missing and we can't start the ceremony without him. Give me a moment."

Nozomi toddled around the room, trying to find him but to no avail.

~.~.~

The wizened Sandaime Hokage puffed languidly on his pipe, looking out to the beautiful scenery of Konoha below. Times of peace were rare after all, not to mention all the efforts put in place to strengthen the economy.

Ignorance may actually be a blessing in disguise, he silently mused.

Not-so-secretly, Konoha was actually in an unofficial war for quite a while. The skirmishes and open conflicts in neighbouring territories have yet to fully make their way throughout the civilian population's ears with how the Intelligence Department members are working overtime to ensure that prospective clients still come to trade with Konoha. Well, the ninjas are all in the know though. Hard to miss when you get deployed more often than not to border patrols and even outright assassinations. The official annoucement of the Third Ninja War currently at their doorstep to the civilians is something that he wants to put off for as long as possible, the actual outbreak since years ago.

Knock knock.

"Enter."

Uchiha Fugaku strode into the room swiftly, a frown marred on his face. "Hokage-sama. What is it that you require assistance in?"

Nonchalantly puffing another cloud, he spoke "I heard the Military Police is facing some issues."

Fugaku hid a twitch. So it seems that even Sandaime has heard about the shortage of staff.

He internally grimaced. Uchiha's do NOT admit their weaknesses out loud. Even to the Hokage. But this issue has been pressing for a while...

Tipping his head slightly, he addressed the aging leader, "Hokage-sama. The next batch of Chunin enlists would be enough to fill in the ranks, at least until the next deployment is sent out."

Internally cataloging the Head of Police's reply, Hiruzen summoned an Anbu.

A small puff of smoke revealed a Tiger mask. "Hokage-sama. Orders?"

"Go scout around the Academy. I'm implementing war-time recruitment procedures for the next few years. Get the Jounin commander and Heads of the various departments in as well. We cannot afford to lose more active shinobi in our forces, not when we are currently at war."

"Hai." The Anbu shunshined away.

Fugaku stilled. "Further war recruitment, Hokage-sama?"

Hiruzen chuckled mirthlessly on his pipe. "Did you really believe otherwise, Fugaku-san? That our skirmishes will cease in a while?"  _I'm getting too old for this._

He grunted, unwilling to comment.

Taking measured steps back to his desk, Hiruzen plopped down onto his nest of cushions as gracefully as a shinobi could. Well, none but the Academy students would be fooled at his elation of resting the old bones.

Giving a measured look at his leader, Fugaku processed his thoughts in cold calculation. 'The Kyuubi was successfully sealed not too long ago. By all rights, it is probably an Uzumaki, and there is only one more in Konoha. It becomes part of the Uchiha's guard job then.'

"On that note," The Hokage leaned forward. "I would like a list of all possible early entrees into the Academy by the end of this year. We might face a shortage of Genin and Chunin once the war drags on."

"Hai Hokage-sama."

"Dismissed."

~.~.~.~

The birthday celebration itself was a rather drawn-out and marginally tensed formal affair, with Fugaku's stiff shoulders being an open signal that things were about to get worse, and soon.


	6. Chapter 6

"Baka!" Pissed, I swung my fist, earning a yelp from my older cousin.

"Itte! Nozomi-chan! Why are you hurting me?" Shisui cried waterfall tears while the trio quickly ran down the hill using the shaded path.

"One does not use Katon jutsus near the flour windmill. You'll make a dust explosion!" Nozomi huffed, still unable to fully catch her breath by the time they reached the abandoned warehouse near the Hokage mountain.

"So?" He sniffled, clearly trying to gain pity points.

"Which part of  _explosion_  do you not get?!" I almost screeched into his ear, waving the small bag of flour. "We'll die!" Fuck, I'm not paid to do this.

"B-but... its an explosion!" Cue dramatic hand waves. "And explosions are  _COOL_." He turned all starry eyed at me, obviously not seeing the point.

"So? You'll die." I spat.

Shisui sniffled, rubbing his head bump earned from his idiocy. "Everyone likes explosions..."

I groaned, rubbing the bridge of my nose. I can totally feel a migraine coming on soon at this rate. I'm NOT a babysitter.

Seriously, what's with Uchiha's and their explosions? Ergh.

"I'm gonna tell mum!"

"Yeah, yeah whatever." I gave a dismissal wave, totally not paying attention to the stomping brat beside me. "I have better things to do. Kekeke..." I grinned evilly, rubbing my hands together in glee.

Shisui ducked back in fear, wrapping himself around my poor, traumatised-for-life brother while I started mixing chemicals, cackling like an evil scientist all the while.

"N-ne 'Tachi, aren't you gonna stop her?"

Frightened wide doe eyes blinked up at him in fear, shaking his head. "Nee-chan scary." He whispered to no one in particular.

"Aww 'Tachi, Nee-chan will never hurt you~" I cooed, spinning around happily while the bottle of unidentified liquid sloshed nicely in my hands. "I just need to get this done for the day and we'll be off."

Both toddlers shivered in the corner, giving each other meaningful glances all the while dreading the day that the red-haired prankster met the black-haired one.

"Okay, let's go!"

~.~.~

"Ahhh, it's finally time for a break!" One random paperwork Chunin stepped into the breakroom, giving a wave to his colleague.

"Tsk. And look at you, what would those kids and ninja wannabes think when they see a ninja as lazy as you?" His companion snarked, rummaging the sparsely stocked cupboard for the essentials.

"Military Police have been giving issues man. Imagine having to re-arrange 2 week's worth of rotations just to fill the slots."

"Shut up Uchiha. Won't your Clan Head take your head for that?"

The man gulped, realising the inappropriateness of his comment. "Ah, I hope no one else heard that. Wait. You heard anything?" He pointed directly to the other person's nose.

"No, was that a bee?" The other Chunin lightly swatted his finger away, making his nice, steaming hot cup of coffee. "Want some?"

"Sure."

Both men paid homage to the God of Coffee for a moment, taking the time off to praise every Kami they could think of for the invention of the caffeine beverage.

"Cheers." "Cheers!"

Taking a nice, big breath, they inhaled the heavenly dr-

"PFFFF..." "ERKKK" *choke*

*Cough cough cough*

"Bleurgh. What in the name of kami?-" *Cough cough*

His companion patted on his back miserably, still trying to clear his airways. "What the hell?"

Both shinobi glared at their cups, minds going haywire. "Tsubaki's gonna be mad. That guy needs his caffeine fix every hour, that addict. And I think he's gonna come in about... now."

"Hey guys! Still got any coffee left?" The non-descript worker from the Hokage's Tower strolled in, happily making himself a cup.

"Do you wanna break the news to him?"

"...Nah, not worth it. Besides, I think his reaction will be hilarious."

Sure enough.

"Blurgh! What in the name of Amaterasu is this?! This shit ain't coffee!" Tsubaki shouted to the heavens, the brown not-coffee spilling out of his nose.

~.~.~

"Wahahahahaha... Ahahaha..." The black-haired toddler laughed uncontrollably, eventually dropping the binoculars down into a kunoichi's lap.

"That was fun, -ttebane!" She grinned foxily, bouncing the girl curled up in her lap on one of the rooftops of Konoha. Placing a simple smell Genjutsu over the not-coffee before the prank had to be one of her best improvisations ever!

Well, if anyone asked, she can always claim innocence that those ninja lack observational skills. Kushina mentally whistled at her carefully crafted plans. But somehow, Minato ALWAYS starts suspecting her for these kind of things.

Eh, nobody ever said she couldn't take revenge for that one time  _her_  blond idiot went out with one of his fangirls to a restaurant she happened to be walking by. And that civilian maid that worked part-time at the Uchiha compounds was smart enough to choose a table seat, as if to flaunt what a  _bitch_  she was to steal someone else's boyfriend. Kushina seethed.

And well, Minato is an idiot sometimes, even if he only lets his guard down enough in the village around close companions he trusts to watch his back. There's a reason why his head is still there after all.

Glitter might be a good enough deterrent for him to figure it out. Otherwise she's gonna start roping in his even more idiotic brats and that Hatake narcissist. Genius or not. She isn't termed the Red-Hot Habanero for nothing you know.

Kushina grumbled under her breath while waiting for her companion to subside her laughter.

"Ahahaha... y-yeah... hehehe..." The little girl managed to calm down enough to snicker, wiping off her tears carefully. "Those expressions were totally worth it."

"Heh. But seriously, how in the world did you think of that? Though I must say, its damn good."

Tilting her chin up to blink innocently at the adult before grinning cheekily, she spoke, "A little birdy told me."

Giving Nozomi a who-the-hell-are-you-trying-to-fool look, the Jinchuuriki smirked. "Well, I don't think anyone can think of using natto to replace coffee. Except me."

Faced with the mild Uchiha  _stare_ , she quickly amended. "And you."

"Eh, natto tastes wierd. And not nice. And its brown!" Nozomi waved her hands in the air for emphasis. "And I don't like coffee."

Odd Uchiha brat. "But how did you know to use flour?"

"Flour and water is thick n' white." She scrunched her face up. "Natto paste is too dark. So if we have one plus one..." Nozomi wiggled her eyebrows and fingers meaningfully. "Brown 'coffee'!"

Good thing the boys were long gone once they walked past the Clan houses. Even more undue trauma might induce childhood heart attacks with how emotionally fragile the both of them are.

Kushina snorted. Retarded her ass. No wonder Mikoto asked to keep a close eye on Nozomi while she's shielding Itachi.

Ever since the twin's first birthday, more and more councilmen and village elders have been putting pressure on Fugaku and Mikoto to finalize who the Clan Heir should be on official documentation, with Itachi showing signs of genius with the speed he picks up things and Nozomi's random logic and verbal bullshit despite the lack of age gap.

Well, the main thing is the bullshit. Sometimes, even Minato had a hard time trying to comprehend half the shit she spouted when verbally cornered by either Mikoto or herself, despite being certified as one of the smartest ninja's in Konoha itself which is no mean feat. In fact, ever since the both of them were carted off by Fugaku for a psyche evaluation and intelligence ratings, Nozomi started speaking in full lesser and lesser every time she saw her.

Itachi, that kid, managed to score well above average, but whether he is truly a genius requires more tests to be done once he reaches the Academy. As for his sister... well. Either that girl is also another genius or a true retard. Kushina would totally bet all her money on the former though.

Quickly bringing her mind back to the present, Kushina grinned widely at the little girl. "So, watcha say about ramen?"

"Ehhhh?" Nozomi sulked. "Me want dango. And rice."

Kushina snorted, hooking her hand beneath the toddler before jumping back to street level. "You ate that yesterday."

"You too!" She huffed.

"Did not."

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!" Ah, her cheeks are red. Let's try this...

"Did too!"

"HA!" Nozomi crowed loudly. "You suck!"

"..." Kushina was momentarily stunned speechless before she started to splutter. "You were supposed to fall for that!"  _And she's one?_

"Blegh!" Nozomi stuck her tongue out, "You suck~" She giggled.

"Hmph. Brat. Fine, I'm bringing you home." Kushina huffed with rather red cheeks that matched her hair, pivotting sharply on her heel to trek back to the Clan compound.

"Awww..." Nozomi pouted on her shoulder. "Me wants sweets..." She whined, shaking her head in the process.

Quickly readjusting her goddaughter, Kushina slung her over her shoulder. "Tsk. Don't come crying to me complaining you got fat next time brat."

"Old hag." Nozomi muttered under her breath.

Pricking her ears, Kushina bristled while growling lowly, "No one's an old hag dammit. I'm telling Mikoto-chan!"

The toddler casually leaned backwards, smirking like the cat that got the canary. "Kaa-san!."

Kushina blanched bone-white. "Er. Wait, no. No one speaks of this, okay?"

"Deal." Nozomi smirked over her shoulder the entire while, giving Kushina infinite creeps worse than facing Kurama.

Kekekekeke...

~.~.~

"Here. Brat no.2 is already in the shower with one of the aunts." Kushina grumbled softly to her childhood friend while handing the washed towels she borrowed before, having been invited over a couple of times since Mikoto's marriage.

Mikoto smiled, "You don't have to be so polite with me you know. I've seen you much worse. This behaviour might make me uncomfortable."

"Shaddup." Kushina flushed, scrambling to mimic her friend's formal sitting position.

"So how is she?" Mikoto took a leisurely sip of her tea, eyeing her friend carefully.

"Erm, well, how do I put this..." Kushina scratched her head, blinking at her own teacup on the table. "There's absolutely no way she's classified as a retard."

Mikoto hid a snort with the teacup. Kushina smirked. "I totally saw that. You can't hide from me."

"I concur." Mikoto lightly placed the teacup onto the low wooden table, answering both at once. "And so does Fugaku. That child is... almost scarily aware of everything."

"Huh?"

At her friend's slightly confused expression, she hurried on to elaborate. "Fugaku noticed that even for her age, Nozomi was already speaking really well, even better than Itachi. There were days when we caught her teaching Itachi grammar and vocabulary during their art lessons."

This time was Kushina's turn to snort. "That brat hates art. I can tell you that for certain. She literally sleeps through them."

"Yes, I know." Mikoto sighed. "But the point is, she noticed that we noticed that we were observing her behaviour and speech and she eventually stopped talking at times."

"What do you mean?" Kushina sat up alerted.

"Do you know about the Hokage's recent order regarding the Academy?" Seeing her friend's nod, she continued. "Fugaku is placed in charge of compiling the list of possible early entrees from the Clan to submit to the Hokage. Itachi is in for sure, but we are still debating on whether to include Nozomi in as well."

Mikoto paused, and folded her hands into her lap, curling into herself to Kushina's concern. "I... I don't want to lose both of my children so early to the shinobi lifestyle. My own blood and flesh..."

Tightening her hands into fists, she spoke, "Nozomi doesn't seem to want attention either. The more we try to observe her, the more she closes up. Did you notice her speech patterns are changing?"

Kushina reached over the table, face slightly lax in realisation. "She's dumbing herself down."

"And fails at times."

"Yes." Mikoto chuckled slightly mirthlessly. "I noticed, right after the psyche nurses commented on how smart Itachi has to be to pick up simple words by mimicry and string them into phrases. Imagine at that same time Nozomi can already talk in full sentences."

"Oh kami." Kushina paled. "Does the Hokage know about this? Fugaku?"

Went unspoken was that Clan prodigies are often pushed to their limits as early and hard as possible, sometimes even past them. It is not unheard of for many to break within a couple of years unless they join the ANBU to smolder their emotions. Then again, Hatake's record still seems clean enough for the Hokage and the council to repeat this, especially during wartime.  _Like now._

Mikoto spoke in a slightly bitter tone, shaking her head. "Neither of them does, but my husband suspects something is amiss. What is your opinion, Kushina-chan?"

"Hmm..." Kushina scratched her cheek. "If you're worried your brat might one-up you-" "Kushina-chan." "-Might as well do this..."

The setting sun bore witness to a suggestion with the potential to change the world.

~.~.~.~

Having finished my bath with Itachi (Take that all fangirls! I'm awesome!) Mikoto quietly picked me up without my twin before a colourful swirl of vortex occurred before my eyes, making my head spin.

"Wha...?" I was really dizzy, hanging on to Mikoto like my life depended on it. 'Was that Shunshin?'

"We shall begin now." A voice echoed around the darkness, and the only light source were two distant orange lanterns.

Huh?

"Gomen ne, Nozomi-chan. Kaa-chan can't protect both you and Itachi forever, so you need to learn everything as much as you can." Mikoto held me close, before I was pushed into an open ring circle of white chalk, surrounded by white Shinto priests that seriously scared the hell outta me.

"Huh?" Tears started welling up in my eyes, fear and guilt gnawing at me but unable to move. Flames burst forth from the candles surrounding us, making me flinch while adjusting to the sudden change in light intensity.

As the priests started chanting some mumble-jumble, Mikoto took my hand and led me into a shrine, bowing reverently at the base of the altar. Taking that as a cue, I quickly bowed my head as well.

"You don't have have to be so formal, Mikoto-chan. I did watch you grow up after all... Oya, is this part of your litter?" A slightly rusty voice enquired.

"Hai Neko-baa sama. This is my daughter Uchiha Nozomi, one of twins that I bring here to meet. Say hello to Neko-baa sama, Nozomi-chan."

N-neko baa?! Holy. "H-hajimemashite Neko-baa sama." I kept my head low.

A figure slowly stepped in front of us, and I could tell that it was smiling. "Don't be so shy child. Us Neko's are the summon contractors for the Uchiha clan for many generations."

Neko-baa then turned to address Mikoto. "I shall assume this would be your Clan Heir instead of the other?" Mikoto nodded. "Alright then. Nozomi-chan, would you please step forward?"

Feeling brave, I looked straight into Neko-baa's eyes, feeling the ever-growing distance between Mikoto and I.

"Come child." She turned and led me in deeper into the altar. Mikoto wasn't following, and the flickering shadows around me gave me a slight sense of unease as the scent of sandalwood incense grew stronger and thicker.

When we eventually reached a big pile of cushions and pillows, Neko-baa sat and motioned me over, which I readily compiled.

Curious, I traced her paw motions with my eyes, before dizziness suddenly consumed me and I simply collapsed sideways on the floor, breathing harshly.

"Whhaa?" The entire world distorted through my lens, leaving me near breathlessness.

"Child, a long and hard fate lies in front of you that you wish to cut. But I shall ask, do you still wish to protect them?"

An epiphany struck me. "I will protect all those I hold dear."

"No matter the cost?"

"Within my means."

"So mote it be." Neko-baa's voice resounded throughout me, leaving a searing pain on my back as proof of my oath.

Before the darkness of destiny consumed me, I only had one thought.

_I wonder if Canon Itachi went through this?_

_._

You can run, but you can't hide.

~.~.~.~

"Mikoto-chan!" Kushina hurriedly ran over, careful to not jostle the sleeping Itachi in her arms. "How was it?"

"The gamble paid off." A rather pale Mikoto spoke in hushed tones, gently adjusting her unconscious daughter. "Neko-baa sama accepted her without much of a fuss." 'Barely any, in fact.'

"So is it a good thing?" The jinchuuriki peered over the sleeping child curiously. From a distance everything looks ordinary were it not for the fact that any passable chakra sensors can now see a symbol siphoning mild amounts of chakra on Nozomi's base of neck.

Mikoto eyed her friend like she is stupid. "The protection of the cat summons are now passed onto her. Until the day she receive and signs the summon scroll she is protected by the nine lives of the cats."

"Nine fatal injuries?"

Mikoto nodded grimly. "Just that. Minor wounds can still kill but... let's hope it doesn't come to that."

"At least now, my conscience can be at peace even though I'm sending the both of them to war." Mikoto took both children into her arms, hugging them like it was the last moment of their lives together.

"At least one of them will survive."

_But which?_


	7. Chapter 7

Seriously speaking, even if Konohagakure's a ninja village with plenty of security (aka. Ninjas) one can still expect them to behave and function like a human.

So, guard detail cannot possibly be 100% foolproof to deter assassinations and kidnappings right? Especially since Konoha has so many vaunted Kekkei Genkai that foreign villages are more than willing to drool, desert, seduce and betray over, huh?

Especially Clan Heirs.

So tell me, why the hell am I standing in the middle of an almost deserted road in the early evening with my guardian completely out of sight? Huh?!

I sneered at no one in particular.

Kushina really needs to get her head checked up, seriously. I mean, who the hell (apart from her, apparently) leaves a one year old Clan Heir with a famed dojutsu Kekkei Genkai to stand in the middle of the road and not expect to get into trouble? What the hell?

She, of all good reason, decided that having forgotten to decorate Minato's apartment for something that I-sure-as-hell-don't-wanna-know reason, left me in the dust.

Right. Good job girl, responsible kunoichi's for the win. Especially when they are your godmother that Okaa-chan entrusted to take care of their charge. Just one.

As I dug my mini-ninja sandals into the dirt, I ambled off to shade the nearby walls provided from the evening sun, trying to trace my way home. Hey, Konoha's tropical so whaddya expect? I guarantee the weather's still at least twenty something degrees in Celsius.

Apparently, my good map memory carried over from my previous life, plus my near eidetic face memory, which I'm fucking grateful for. Turning around corners and walking past street vendors that you've sure as hell seen before can do great wonders to the ego of a lost and lonely child trying to find her way home.

Can't do two shits about names tho. How the hell I passed my medical exams is up to anyone's guess, seriously. I can put two and two faces together, but never, EVER, ask me for their names. I'll just droll at you like you asked the stupidest question ever.

Sweating buckets while ambling slowly back to the rising chimneys in the distance, my mind went on and on on its usual roller-coaster of thoughts. I really wonder how all those ninjas can stand wearing their long sleeved uniforms in this frigging weather, especially when doing in-village missions or training otherwise.

Long sleeves + sunny warm weather = heatstroke, no?

_Dyingggggg from heattttt_

I lolled my tongue out just as I passed by a shadow. Closer though, I bumped into something hard.

"Ouch!"

~.~.~

"Ouch!"

Slightly shocked at the sudden break in monotony, the idiotic wall stopped and stared at Nozomi. "Oh sorry, didn't see you there." The cloth muffled sound barely reached her ears.

"Didn't see?" Nozomi raised her voice a couple of decibles. "What kind of perso-"

She stopped. And stared.

The teenager Hatake Kakashi stood rather sullenly in front of her, jaw locked and shoulders hunched ever so slightly that conveyed 'defeat' to any personal trained to read body language, a tight white bandage covering the left side of his face. His gravity defying silver hair also somehow seemed to lack its luster.

'Don't know what you take for granted until you've lost them.' His own voice echoed around his head. 'Even a civilian caught you off guard now.'

"Maa, I'm sorry little girl, I really didn't see you there," false humour coated his voice, eyes attempting to crinkle into that all-so-famous eye smile that Nozomi is sure would become his future trademark. "I just started to learn to see with one eye by myself, since I opened my eyes too late for my friend to teach me." He chuckled mirthlessly, patting Nozomi's head.

Nozomi felt her jaw drop slightly. Did the Hatake Kakashi just make a lame pun?

'The blood on my hands... should I even touching an innocent child with them?' His eyes became duller, as his thoughts went back to the only failed mission in his entire life. 'I learnt my lesson too late... So much for being a prodigy.' Kakashi stifled a bitter laugh threatening to bubble out from his chest filled with sorrow.

'I almost lost Rin, and I watched Obito slip out of my hands almost literally. What's to say I won't one day lose Minato-sensei as well?'

'I'm going to lose everyone I love, aren't I Tou-san?' His head dropped slightly to the side.

Kakashi shuffled his hands into his pockets, slipping back into his totally awkward mode of communication.

_Silence._

W-WHUD. Whatwhatwhat? Nozomi's mind backtracked.

'Was that...a Kannabi bridge reference?' She stared at him with wide eyes. 'Has it already happened?'

Somehow, she had a feeling that Kakashi wasn't paying attention, though his haunted black eye seemed to stare straight through her.

'Is Obito...d-dead?' Unknowningly, her eyes widened in horror. 'But then Madara!...'

Nozomi silently mused, retreating to her inner sanctuary. 'No wonder Kakashi practically looks like a dead man walking. He just lost his first ever and only good friend.' She shook her head. 'No puns this time dammit. Wrong occasion.'

There was only one thing left to do then, with Kakashi mopping like the angst character he is.

"Er, hi?" Nozomi squeaked at one of her favourite future idols, ears red. "Mister can take me home?"

'What the shit am I saying? Shouldn't any decent human being try to cheer him up?' Nozomi mentally berated herself.

Kakashi blinked at her, momentarily thrown off his balance. "Er...sure?" He scratched his head slightly sheepishly. "Piggy-back?" He really didn't know what to say. That's one of the drawbacks of being a genius pushed through the Academy curriculum and out into the front lines of war - you become a social retard. Well, at least he's trying.

'I wonder if Obito's seeing this. The great, stuck-up Jounin Hatake giving a piggy-back ride to a little kid.' He hesitated. 'I don't really think I should pollute the innocent...'

Kakashi blinked stupidly as Nozomi tugged on his pants, intently looking up at him with a smile on her face. "Carry?"

'...She asked for it. Who am I to deny as a pledged ninja of the Leaf?' As Kakashi offered his hands, Nozomi blinked, before smiling the stupidest and widest one in her entire (new) life to reach for his. "Un!"

'He needs more human contact. If that had already happened I really can't imagine how it will feel to lose your last few precious people in just one more year.'

Nozomi insistently clambered onto his shoulders, clutching the mop of silver hair as a safety harness.

"It's soooo soft..." -  _just like potrayed by the anime with how it ruffled in the wind._ Wisely, she kept that to herself while mumbling other inane stuff in bliss with how she practically smashed her face into his hair while the young Jounin calmly strolled off in a random direction as if there was nothing on his head.

"Er, so," He coughed lightly. "Where do you live, little girl?"

"Ehh" Nozomi lifted her head out of the makeshift silver pillow to point in a random direction with her pudgy index finger. "That way!"

"Mhm." He turned heel.

"And now that way!"

"Okay..."

.

.

.

"Just further down to the pink thing!" Nozomi cheerfully crowed.

"Uhuh." Kakashi deadpanned, tilting his head ever so slightly to face the toddler at the corner of his eye. "You sure that's where we are going?"

"Yep!" Nozomi grinned. "I'm totally sure that's where."

"Okay..." Kakashi slouched as they approached the dango shop for the 6th time. "Do you know the street name you live at?"

"Mm! Kejo street!"

Kakashi's mind whirled. "That's fifteen minutes away from where we started. You sure you aren't lost?"

"Nope, me have amazing sense of direction, ne?" Nozomi grinned.

"Right..." Kakashi drawled, slipping into a more casual form of speech his older self often used. "We took 45 minutes to walk to a destination that is supposed to take 15 minutes to reach by foot (civilian speeds)."

"What can I say," Nozomi puffed her chest out in mock pride. "My amazing sense of direction is never wrong!"

_But whether I use it or how I use it is a totally different story, like now. Ah well._

"..." Kakashi narrowed his visible eye, before the both of them disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"EEeeepp!" Nozomi slapped her hand over her mouth as her vision spun into a vortex of colours before stabilising. _Shunshin?_

'Dammit he got sick of it.'

"Uchiha-sama." Kakashi swept her off his shoulders onto the ground before bowing lightly to the Clan Head. "I've brought your daughter back."

"E-eh?" Nozomi spluttered. He actually knew who she was!

"Thank you for bringing Nozomi-chan back Hatake-san." Fugaku nodded stiffly, motioning her over the gate. "How's your health?"

The frigid atmosphere was not lost on her. Unsurprising, since Fugaku obviously haven't decided on how he wants to treat the young genius that obtained the Clan's bloodline through a slightly distant nephew - but still family nonetheless.

"As good as it should be, Uchiha-sama. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave." Kakashi shoved Nozomi forward lightly as she glared back at him.

Chakra depletion signs were scripted on his face, making Nozomi feel all the more guilty of forcing him to walk around Konoha instead of recuperating at home.

"Ruin my fun." She mouthed. "But sorry." Nozomi drooped her eyes in an apologetic expression, resulting in a hand ruffling her already messy wind-combed hair.

"Brat." Kakashi mumbled before disappearing in a much bigger puff of smoke than was necessary.

"Hey!" Nozomi puffed into mock indignition.

'Yeah, I was being a brat back there. But you needed it.' Her eyes softened. 'Running away from human contact is never good.'

Gripping her father's hand tightly, the duo walked back into the house at a calm pace as a mismatched pair of sorrowful dark grey and blood red Sharingan stared at their retreat.

'If only...'

The ninja turned his attention back to the official missive he procured earlier this morning almost immediately after his hospital discharge. Suffice to say, the look his Hokage levelled with him wasn't enough to deter the Jounin from making up his mind.

A gloved hand unsealed the parchment and the words are burnt to memory by the tomoe spinning lazily on his eye.

_To: ANBU-Trainee Wolf_

_Sandaime Hokage approves your entree, conditionally._

_Either one or more of below criteria has to be met:_

_1\. When your Team is disassembled._

_2\. Loss of Jounin sensei_

_3\. Major attack on village_

_4\. Clinically certified but functional insanity_

_Report to Training Ground 44 at 0325 for short briefing, Date XXXX_

_Burn when finished._

The crouched ninja tucked the missive into his vest, intent on lighting it with a Katon later. A lone tear fell, unable to bear the weight of his inner burden.

* * *

Prelude

"Otou-chan." Nozomi all but squeaked, unsure of what to do.

"Rise." The man who fathered her in this world commanded in his 'business' tone, sending shivers down her spine. "You have to answer this honestly, and truthfully as an Uchiha of Konohagakure, understand?"

"H-hai!" Yep, she started to tremble as she rose smoothly from her kneeling position to stand in front of her Clan Head acting in his capacity - not as a father.

"Can you read?"

"A b-bit."

"Can you throw kunai or shuriken?"

"N-no?"

"Use chakra?"

Nozomi paused, unsure. "I dunno..." She meeped.

Fugaku shifted his weight, his intent gaze practically boring holes through her as the other elders in the room took notes on what the future Clan Head behaved like - or in more direct terms, sizing her up on how far they could bully her.

"Itachi has been granted early admission into the Academy."

Nozomi's head snapped up. "And me?"

A faint smirk lined the edges of Fugaku's mouth, as if to say 'that's my girl'. "Prove that you have what it takes to follow in the footsteps of your brother."

...Okay, that was an obvious insult. Nozomi bristled slightly before hiding it, but in that room full of veteran ninjas it was akin to broadcasting your intentions in broad daylight. "No need." She spun around, to the muted dissent of the elders at her blatant disrespect for them.

"He'll be following in mine." Her eyes glinted as she tilted her head to face the floor, and for just a brief moment, bled into ruby irises as her chakra spiked.

"I'll make sure of it. No matter what."

Mikoto gasped as her seal activated.


	8. Chapter 8

The village of Konohagakure was in a joyous atmosphere. Streamers, lanterns and lights. You name it, they have it. Festivities and near-drunken celebration occurred around the village, civilians and shinobi alike freely mingling around. For once, ANBU patrols were actually visible in the highly populated districts, though their appearances remained few and far in between. Many civilians and shinobi-wannabes squealed at actually getting a rare chance to see their protectors, heightening their desire and pride of belonging to the ninja village.

Merchants and traders sent up shops round the bends, the smell of food heightening the celebratory mood. Ladies in yukatas, children in their festival clothes are milling around the games and food stalls, especially the ones selling candied apples. Others crowded around shooting darts and drinking contests, the men boasting to their peers and cheerily trying to out-drink one another with the nearly limitless supply of cheap sake procured on such an occasion despite the short notice.

The entire village was close to a drug-induced high.

Why, you ask?

Because, you see, today is a special day.

But how special could it be? One might wonder.

Hmm, let's put it this way. Today, practically all ninja are actually wearing their assigned uniform from the Mission Office in the Hokage Tower, unlike the usual rag-tag bunch of dressing more than half the force usually scraped together and reported for duty, typically the Jounin.

That of course included full ninja attire of Konoha standard flak jackets over their chosen long sleeved shirts and typical shinobi pants, as well as dark brown, black or blue sandals.

Needless to say, the rush order and chaos that occured during the day prior was one that most paperwork shinobi burnt to memory to tell for their next lifetime: many a proud Konoha ninja couldn't find their assigned set since their latest promotion of rank, despite digging through the meagre clothes supplies that active shinobis usually have.

Needless to say, the chewing out these people got for their irresponsibility by one of the Head of Departments was particularly hilarious.

Especially when the person in question was trying but failing to hide the twitch of his mouth that nearly sparked a wave of laughter among his colleagues, with many of their higher profile comrades sweating it out with panicked expressions visible despite their heads bowed in shame, standing awkwardly in the mildly stuffy Chunin mission room that they barely stepped into anymore.

Can you really blame the eternal Chunin ninjas in their mission assignment room for using their once in a lifetime chance to snigger at their superiours, really?

Well, that is another story to tell though.

~.~.~

Despite the festivities, however, there was a certain place in Konoha where not everything was well.

In fact, it would be more appropriate to label it as the exact opposite of the atmosphere in the village, especially if you include the parties concerned.

Irony, at its most tragic, is at its best.

~.~.~

The lone black eye shifted down uneasily, down down down to the small patch of wild flowers growing near the base of the Memorial Stone.

He shifted his weight more evenly on both legs, still uncomfortable about nearly everything in the world.

The soft grass crunched crisply before him, as his mentor sighed softly in the silence. The remainder of what was Team 7 stood sullenly in the night breeze, the gloom atmosphere cloaked around the Memorial, nigh untouched from the cheery party ongoing in the streets not far below.

The dusk sun shone lightly against them, reflecting a gentle glint off the Memorial Stone that held the names of many fallen comrades in the brutality that was humanity. One that reminded of the hopeless, gut-wrenching choices that had to be made – for the majority.

"Kakashi." The blond turned to face his only student.

"Minato-sen... Hokage-sama." Kakashi dipped his head into a polite nod, completely closing off all his expressions as he kept his jaw locked. If possible, his heavy gaze boring into the Memorial had darkened even further, avoiding eye contact with the sole person he had left.

"Kakashi... Just… look at me, okay?" Minato sighed a heavy one this time, combing his locks back in mild frustration.

"Hai, Hokage-sama." The teenager dutifully straightened to attention as one would address a direct superior, keeping the tone detached and formal while cool, his dark gray eye slid smoothly to the blond while hiding a cringe that surfaced at the same time.

"What happened... Kiri's actions weren't your fault."

Kakashi kept silent. The sullen expression on his face was no help to his mentor who was trying - but failing, to console him.

The tense atmosphere was nearly suffocating by the time the mason came up to the clearing, his carving tools at the ready.

Slightly awkwardly, both shinobi nodded at the man, while he set his bundle of tools down on the grassy patch and arranged them in order.

Kakashi walked to the nearby trees, braced against the rough bark. Minato kneeled solemnly on the grass, proceeding to read out each name as the mason carved them artistically onto the Memorial Stone, just as all the Hokages had done before him each and every time in the past; the Hokage's duty.

The silence in the breeze carried the whispered words of time long gone.

_We will not forget your sacrifice for the Leaf. You are honoured._

~.~.~

Eventually, Minato had to give up trying to console Kakashi to prepare for the ceremony.

"Team 7 is hereby disbanded." The piercing words left the blond's lips sorrowfully just as he went past Kakashi's shoulder.

He was left alone.

Gripping the bladed part of a Hiraishin tagged kunai tightly, Kakashi dimly watched the blood trickle meekly along the sharpened blade as tears trickled down his face, holding himself still as the last few drops of blood seeped into the ground, the pain dulling his senses just that little bit - just enough for him to hang on to the last of his composure.

"I swear, Obito, I may be trash, but I won't abandon anyone else."

_Rin…_

_Kidnapped to become the Isobu Jinchuuriki_

"Those who break the rules are trash."

_Just after I lost Obito..._

"But anyone who abandons their comrades are worse than trash." He grinded out through tightly clenched teeth, fists held tight at his sides. Tears welled uncontrollably in his eyes.

_I lost Rin. I killed her. By my own hands._

He crumpled, slamming his fits helplessly into the ground.

~.~.~

The team that won the war for Konoha lay nearly crumbled into dust. Broken, defeated and without victory.

Disbanded.

~.~.~

The bloody and brutal Third Shinobi War has finally come to a close.

But not without a price.

~.~.~

The coronation of the Fourth Hokage of Konoha was a positively brilliant event, by all accords.

Children and adults mingled the streets blissfully, happily.

Ninjas and the shadowed protectors of peace and village security took that small moment to heave a sigh of relief. Interrogators in the Torture and Interrogation Department (or T&I for short) decided to give a small break to their captives. Inmates in ANBU jail cells momentarily paused and warily eyed the creepy masks that positively radiated smugness – one that led to a couple of the weaker willed ones to shit themselves in anticipation of their… hospitality.

The Academy was closed for a week. Joyous children and parents celebrated at the impromptu holiday. Ninjas not in deep cover or critical missions booked into the village just as the night celebrations started, each and every one of them greeted by name by the cheerful gate guards who were for once not pretending to be asleep. Or was actually sleeping.

The celebratory mood went viral around Konoha. Lanterns glowed even brighter than they ever had in anyone's memory. Cheers and wolf whistles resounded around the base of the Hokage tower, when hundreds of thousands strong had crowded around, including the military might of the village that had gathered around the rooftops.

As those down in the streets below cheered and chorused wildly, a more sedatory celebration was ongoing in the hidden alcove that led to the Hokage's visiting room.

"I can't believe I've come this far." The Yellow Flash was sprawled rather ungracefully on an oaken chair, much to the amusement of the oldest man in the room.

"If anyone had told me a couple of months ago that Konoha would be having its new Hokage I might have thrown them into Inoichi's tender care just for the sake of it." Hiruzen chuckled genially.

"Maa, no matter what, I'll be here." The silver haired teen chastised his ex-mentor lightly. "Especially if you need to hide from fangirls and Kushina-sama's irritation."

"Hey!" Minato snapped into the proper seating position. "You have no right to say that to me, you…" He huffed in mock anger, his lips already quirked into a smile.

"Wait till you have a girlfriend, Kakashi. Then don't come crying to me when her father and other male relatives start threatening your body parts." Minato smirked.

"Says the hen-pecked one." Kakashi sniped back immediately.

"Hey!" Minato failed to control his blush, the tinge of red spreading quickly across his lightly tanned face. "Brat." He muttered bemusedly, ruffling his student's already unruly silver hair in retribution for the comment, much to Kakashi's ire.

Just then, an ANBU shunshined into the room. "It's time, Sandaime-sama."

He then turned and bowed low to the blond. "Congratulations, Hokage-sama. By your leave."

The animal mask reflected the candle light almost eerily, but only brought a sense of peace to the occupants in the room.

Minato smiled. "Hai. Dismissed." The ANBU left with a breeze.

Kakashi straightened into a formal salute. "Last time I'm calling you sensei in public eh, Minato-sensei."

His mentor gave a sunny smile before clapping lightly on the teen's back. "Nah, you are always free to call me whatever you wish." He called over his shoulder as the two older men proceeded to stroll to the balcony in amiable silence.

Minato twitched when he saw the crowd below.

"Don't worry too much about it. Just do your best. I'm sure Konoha will still love you for it." Hiruzen smiled at the blond, his genuine smile crinkling up his entire face in a rather grandfatherly manner.

"Arigato, Sandaime-sama." The newly coronated leader tipped his head forward lightly, staring straight into the world weary eyes of his aged mentor.

As he carefully took the flaming red and white Hokage hat from his precedessor's wrinkled but still strong hands, he momentarily paused to feel the weight of the world around him. Sarutobi Hiruzen quirked an eyebrow at the younger man. Surely he did not suddenly decide to back out now?

As if having read the other man's thoughts, Minato lifted his head to flash a quirk of lips at him, before glancing over his shoulder to view the colours below.

Konoha's citizens and visitors were all smiling up at the two of them. The ninjas lingering at the corners of alleys and on rooftops all discretely gave him a wave. A couple of ANBU actually came and flashed a quick salute before disappearing into the shadows again.

Suddenly, the hat did not feel so heavy anymore.

Minato grinned, and nestled the hat signifying his new position securely onto his head, his blond locks giving way easily as he walked to the edge to address the crowd, the Sandaime trailing at a respectful pace behind him.

Both men grinned at each other, before Minato declared; "The Third Shinobi War is hereby over!"

"Presenting to you, Konohagakure no Sato's Yondaime, Konoha's Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato!"

The crowd went wild.

~.~.~.~

All is well now. That's all that matters.

That's what they're all fighting for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Actually... I only have a few hundred words after this. Hopefully able to get the next chappie up by June *crosses fingers* It's been almost a year since I wrote Naruto fanfic (holy sheeeeeetttt)

**Author's Note:**

> Reviews are always appreciated okay!


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